BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,459,692 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $41,716,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 8.08% of El Pollo Loco as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of El Pollo Loco by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,862 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in El Pollo Loco in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in El Pollo Loco by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,277 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in El Pollo Loco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on El Pollo Loco from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded El Pollo Loco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded El Pollo Loco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of El Pollo Loco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of El Pollo Loco from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.12.
Check Out Our Latest Report on El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco Stock Performance
NASDAQ LOCO opened at $15.27 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $16.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.67 million, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.41. El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $17.40.
El Pollo Loco (NASDAQ:LOCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. El Pollo Loco had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 6.96%.The business had revenue of $129.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.29 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.
El Pollo Loco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 28th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Transactions at El Pollo Loco
In other El Pollo Loco news, major shareholder Sardar Biglari sold 80,000 shares of El Pollo Loco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.90, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,122,531.80. The trade was a 54.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 558,803 shares of company stock worth $9,427,504 in the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
El Pollo Loco Profile
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Free Report)
El Pollo Loco NASDAQ: LOCO is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style fire-grilled chicken and complementary menu offerings. The company's signature product is its marinated, flame-grilled chicken, which is prepared in an open-flame rotisserie and served in a variety of formats including tacos, burritos, bowls and salads. In addition to its core chicken offerings, El Pollo Loco menu items feature fresh-made salsas, guacamole, sides such as charro beans and fresh tortillas, as well as a selection of beverages and desserts.
Founded in 1975 in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, by Juan Francisco Ochoa, the concept expanded into the United States in 1980 with its first U.S.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LOCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOCO - Free Report).
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